The Committee on Data (CODATA), previously known as the Committee on Data for Science and Technology (CODATA), was set up by the 11th General Assembly of the International Council for Science (ICSU) held in Bombay, January 1966. The Committee held its first meeting in Paris in June 1966.

CODATA is concerned with all types of quantitative data resulting from experimental measurements or observations in the physical, biological, geological and astronomical sciences. Particular emphasis is given to data management problems common to different scientific disciplines and to data used outside the field in which they were generated.

The general objectives are the improvement of the quality and accessibility of data, as well as the methods by which data are acquired, managed and analysed; the facilitation of international cooperation among those collecting, organizing and using data; and the promotion of an increased awareness in the scientific and technical community of the importance of these activities.